Tonka has only dipped this low twice in the past 12 years, October 1, 2009 (927.78′) and October 27, 2000. (927.37′)

Just last spring Tonka was at 930.26 feet on May 23,2001…meaning the big west metro “bellwether” lake has dropped well over 2 feet since last spring.

The Gray’s Bay Dam in Minnetonka at the eastern end of the lake controls the level of Lake Minnetonka, and how much water feeds into Minnehaha Creek from the lake.

The MCWD closed the dam last September as drought began to eat away at the lake level. The lake would be higher now had they closed it sooner last summer… given the onset of drought conditions and rapid fall in lake levels. But MCWD has to do a constant balancing act between those who want higher lake levels and those who want more water flowing into Minnehaha Creek.

Either way… Lake Minnetonka and Minnehaha Creek are woefully low this spring at a time of year when we should be seeing our highest levels of the year.

We’ll need several inches of rain this spring on order to boost levels on lakes, rivers & ponds.

April showers today:

Bands of showers today are riding north from Iowa again. That’s great news for our parched soils & low lakes, but probably not enough to put a big bite in the drought.

Coverage will be spotty, but most models indicate between .20″ and .40″ of rain today.

Source: ISU

There is enough energy that we may see a few thunderstorms pop today into this evening. SPC does not have any risk for severe weather in Minnesota at this point.

Source: NOAA SPC

Sunnier & warmer weekend: 70s return!

Our wet weathermaker begins to pull east of Minnesota Friday, and right now the weekend is looking sunny & milder. Temps should make the 70s again, but probably fall short of record highs in the metro. The records are 76 and 78 degrees for Saturday and Sunday at MSP Airport.

Source: ISU

Record heat in 21 states this week!

The scope, magnitude and duration of this March heat wave is impressive…and unprecedented.

As many as 21 states have set temperature records this week from Minnesota south and east.

Check out these highs on Wednesday!

Chicago 87 degrees – 8th consecutive record breaking day!

Madison 83 degrees – warmest March day on record

Green Bay 83 degrees

Marquette, MI 81 degrees – warmest March day on record

The list goes on and on, but you get the idea. We’ve never seen a warm March pattern like this in recorded history.

About the blogger

Paul Huttner is chief meteorologist for Minnesota Public Radio. Huttner has worked TV and radio stations in Minneapolis, Tucson and Chicago. Paul is a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul and holds a bachelor’s degree in geography with an emphasis in meteorology.